The Domestication of a Hybrid
by thedeadsea
Summary: "Wait a second…" Caroline said, a look of realization on her face. "You don't know how to do laundry, do you?"


**Author's Note: So... today was laundry day. And some where between the sorting of darks and brights, my mind wandered. Then this happened.**

**I got a lot of positive feedback from my last Klaroline, so stop by my authors page and read that if you have the chance! I'm thinking about writing a multi-chapter for these two, but I'll have to think of a good plot line. But anyway, enjoy the fluff!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.**

* * *

Caroline first noticed it about a month into their relationship. Or their… Whatever. That was what they were referring it to. _Their Whatever._ She was rifling through his t-shirt drawer, looking for a henley to sleep in when she saw something peculiar.

_Pink._

And lots of it.

"Uh… Klaus?"

"Yes, love?"

"Why do you have twenty pink t-shirts?" Caroline asked, holding up one of the offending garments for him to see.

"Oh… well. That was a mistake. Rebekah, she left the washer on hot water, and then forgot to change it back when she did my laundry." Klaus said, coloring to the color of the shirt she held in her hand. He tried to take the shirt from her, but Caroline held it just out of his reach.

"I don't believe you," Caroline said suspiciously.

"Why were you even rifling through my drawers? You don't need a change of clothes when you spend the night here."

Then he kissed her thoroughly, and she dropped the shirt, promptly forgetting about it for the rest of the night.

* * *

The second time though, she just couldn't ignore it anymore.

She was waiting for him to take her out to lunch a week later, and she was already annoyed he'd made her wait this long.

Caroline had just settled onto his enormous comfy bed when he _finally _walked out of his bathroom.

"Okay love, I'm ready. Where do you want to go, somewhere local or-"

"Klaus…" Caroline says slowly, taking in his appearance.

"Really Caroline, I would prefer it if you wouldn't interrupt me. What is it?"

She stared at him for a few more seconds before bursting out into complete, hysterical laughter.

Klaus, the most dangerous being on the planet, a hybrid who could probably snap her neck without a second thought and paint the town red in the amount of time it took her to get a manicure, was standing in front of her, wearing a sweater that had shrunk at least two sizes.

"What… What are you wearing?!" Caroline managed to ask between bouts of laughter. He glanced down, looking from his shoes to the necklaces that always adorned his neck. Nothing seemed out of place.

"A sweater…?"

"And what did you _do_ to the sweater?"

"Caroline, what are you talking about?" He was starting to get annoyed at her. She didn't care, he would thank her one day.

"Honestly Klaus, are you blind? That sweater is at least two sizes too small! My 13 year old cousin could wear that!"

He looked down. Obviously, the sweater was slightly smaller than the last time he wore it. But it wasn't that bad. Right?

"Wait a second…" Caroline said, a look of realization on her face. "You don't know how to do laundry, do you?"

His silence was the only answer she needed. He looked down, embarrassed.

"Oh my god! You don't!"

She was pinned against the wall before she could start laughing again.

"Caroline, don't think that my affection for you changes the fact that I could very well kill you if I wanted too," He growled.

She shoved him away, looking disgusted.

"Oh shut up, you masochist. If you really wanted me dead, you would have killed me in the sacrifice. I was only teasing you," He was still fuming, but the worst of his anger had ebbed away. "How have you managed to live for the last 60 years without knowing how to work a washing machine?"

He looked down in embarrassment.

"I've always meant to learn… But there was always something else more important. At my other homes, I have a full wait staff who takes care of it for me. But here, that's apparently considered ostentatious."

She snorted. He looked up disdainfully, but continued on.

"Also, I thought that I would be out of Mystic Falls in a week, maybe less. I never thought that it would be necessary to compel a maid. But of course, things change…"

He gave her a meaningful look. Caroline wasn't stupid. She knew very well that the only thing keeping him in Mystic Falls was _her. _She just didn't know how to handle it quite yet.

It was with much trepidation that the next sentence left her mouth.

"I could teach you how to do laundry. If you wanted, I mean..."

For a second, she thought he would refuse her help. The look of doubt that blossomed across his face was not missed by her, but it was quickly replaced with the mask he usually held in public. She _hated _that mask.

"Yes love… I think I would like that very much."

* * *

And that is how, the next day, Caroline Forbes found herself in the laundry room of the Mikaelson mansion, teaching the oldest, most powerful being on the planet how to correctly sort and launder his clothes.

What was her life coming to?

"So next," Caroline explained, holding up a load of darks in a laundry basket she had brought from home, "You'll want to go back through and make sure there are no whites or reds mixed in."

Klaus nodded, hanging on her every word. He had been a surprisingly good student, not complaining and even asking the occasional relevant question.

"Once you've done that, you can put the clothes in the washing machine."

Caroline demonstrated this, but couldn't help but notice that when she bent down to pick up a fallen sock, his eyes wandered decidedly away from their task, and to her chest.

She leveled him a look, but said nothing. If that was the worst he did today, she would be lucky.

"Okay," Caroline said. "Now put in the detergent. Just pour some Tide into the cap, and then put that in the little indentation thingy labeled 'detergent.'"

Klaus clumsily took the Tide from her hands, obviously not expecting to be put on the spot as such. He poured far too much detergent into the cap, and before she could correct him, poured it into the machine.

She watched the soap seeping into the washer.

"Okay… maybe we should get you some of those single wash pod things. Don't worry, we'll try again next time."

It was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

Two hours later, they both collapsed onto his couch, completely exhausted, but with several loads of successfully folded laundry surrounding them.

"Well Caroline," Klaus said, turning his head to look at the blonde, "Was your mission to domesticate me successful?"

"I don't know. What comes first, the fabric softener, or the detergent?"

"The detergent," He answered automatically. "And you only need fabric softener during the winter because it eliminates static."

"Then I'd say your domestication was successful. Next week, we'll tackle the wonders of the microwave."

He chuckled, but looked at her with warmth and appreciation in his eyes.

"I really do appreciate all of your help, Caroline. It was… an interesting afternoon."

She looked up, startled by the genuine affection she heard in his voice.

"I mean… Uh, it was no problem. My mom taught me when I was 14, and I figured you just never got the chance. I might as well pass on my wisdom of household chores."

He opened his mouth, and Caroline just _knew _that the next words out of his mouth were going to be the question she had been evading for weeks now. And this time, she had a concrete answer for him.

"Caroline…" He said, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Yes?" she squeaked out, sitting up straighter.

"You're a beautiful woman, and that's not just the bleach fumes talking."

She laughed, and hit his arm.

"We didn't even _use _bleach, you freak!"

* * *

**AN: Okay… I'll admit it. I did find myself googling "laundry pick up lines" in order to write this. **

**Judge me. But just remember to review. Thanks for reading!**


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